Huge wage bill to affect salaries for Mombasa, Kilifi workers: report

What you need to know:

  • Although Mombasa County’s expenditure on personnel emoluments decreased by 1.2 per cent to Sh3.99 billion compared with Sh4.04 billion in the financial year 2014/2015, the Controller of Budget warned that the high wage bill might result in unsustainable salary costs.
  • On the other hand, in the last financial year, Kilifi County spent Sh2.48 billion on salaries representing an increase of 40.2 per cent up from Sh1.77 billion for 2014/2015.

The Controller of Budget has expressed concern over huge wage bills for Mombasa and Kilifi counties, warning that they might result in unsustainable salary costs.

According to an Annual Implementation Report which was released by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo, for the financial year 2015/2016, Mombasa County spent almost Sh4 billion on salaries while Kilifi spent Sh2.48 billion.

Although Mombasa County’s expenditure on personnel emoluments decreased by 1.2 per cent to Sh3.99 billion compared with Sh4.04 billion in the financial year 2014/2015, the Controller of Budget warned that the high wage bill might result in unsustainable salary costs.

The County’s huge wage bill, according to the report, continued to hamper effective budget implementation.

The report indicated that the Mombasa County’s wage bill for the last financial year represented 46.8 per cent of the total expenditure against the County governments’ ceiling of 35 per cent.

To overcome the huge wage bill, the Controller of Budget recommended that Mombasa County government comply with personnel emoluments ceiling of 35 per cent.

“The County Public Service Board should establish an optimal staffing structure in order to manage the wage bill,” recommended the report.

GROWING WORKFORCE

On the other hand, in the last financial year, Kilifi County spent Sh2.48 billion on salaries representing an increase of 40.2 per cent up from Sh1.77 billion for 2014/2015.

However, Kilifi County attributed the salary increase to a growing workforce.

According to an analysis of the six coast counties on salary expenditure, Taita Taveta spent Sh1.76 billion on personnel emoluments.

Taita Taveta County’s expenditure on salaries, says the report, represented an increase of 18.2 per cent compared with Sh1.44 billion spent in the financial year 2014/2015.

The Controller of Budget warned that the Taita Taveta County’s huge wage bill was also blocking the effective implementation of its budget.

According to the report, Taita Taveta county’s salaries of 50.8 per cent of total expenditure in last financial year was above the wage bill ceiling of 35 per cent.

Kwale County in the last financial year spent Sh1.55 billion salaries representing an increase of 26.2 per cent compared to an expenditure of Sh1.23 billion in financial year 2014/2015.

The salary increase for Kwale County was attributed to a growing workforce owing to hiring of Early Childhood Development Education teachers, absorption of temporary health workers and yearly salary increments.

In the last financial year, Tana River County spent Sh866 million on salaries representing an increase of 7 per cent compared with an expenditure of Sh809 million in the financial year 2014/2015.

On the other hand, Lamu County spent Sh822 million on salaries representing an increase of 26.1 per cent compared with an expenditure of Sh651 million in the financial year 2014/2015.